Throughout Call of Duty’s history, there have been plenty of memorable ARs, including the XM4, which is back and better than ever in Black Ops 6.
Either the M4 or XM4 has appeared in almost every Call of Duty game, and Black Ops 6 is no exception. As usual, it serves as the versatile assault rifle that is accessible and easy to use but doesn’t necessarily deal the most damage.
As such, you can’t afford to miss shots with this gun, so you’ll need a build that makes it as accurate as possible. To help you out, we’ve put together this XM4 loadout that features the best attachments, perks, and equipment to help you dominate multiplayer.
Best Black Ops 6 XM4 loadout
- Optic: Kepler Microflex
- Muzzle: Compensator
- Barrel: Long Barrel
- Underbarrel: Ranger Foregrip
- Rear Grip: Ergonomic Grip
While the XM4 has low recoil regardless, it’s still a good idea to make it even more accurate by using attachments like the Compensator. This muzzle reduces recoil gun kick by 31%, making the versatile assault rifle laser accurate and the perfect choice across a wide range of maps.
Why stop there though? The Long Barrel can also be used to boost damage range, so you will keep dealing the gun’s maximum damage out to 64 meters. That’s great for multiplayer, where most sightlines are within that, especially given that Black Ops 6’s maps are on the smaller side.
You’ll also want to boost the XM4’s handling and mobility, neither of which are all that great by default. The Ranger Foregrip improves sprint movement speed, and the Ergonomic Grip improves slide to fire, dive to fire, and aim down sight speed. With these two attachments equipped, the XM4 becomes mobile and snappy enough to hold its own against even SMGs.
An optic attachment like the Kepler Microflex is very useful since this assault rifle is mostly a medium to long-range weapon. The introduction of Omnimovement in Black Ops 6 means you’ll need to track enemies more accurately than ever, which this meta optic enables.
Best XM4 Black Ops 6 class: Perks and equipment
- Combat Specialty: Recon
- Perk 1: Ghost
- Perk 2: Tracker
- Perk 3: Vigilance
- Wildcard: Perk Greed (Double Time)
- Lethal: Semtex
- Tactical: Concussion
- Field Upgrade: Trophy System
The Recon combat speciality is excellent, as it lets you see enemies through walls for a short time after spawning. This intel is invaluable and can be the lone difference between winning and losing a decisive gunfight.
To use Recon, you need to have three matching Blue Perks. For this, we recommend Ghost to stay undetectable by enemy UAVs, Tracker to see enemy footsteps, and Vigilance to know when you appear on the other team’s minimap. With this setup, you will have all the intel you could ever want, letting you make the right decisions and play with the utmost confidence.
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You can take a fourth perk by using the Perk Greed wildcard, which is well worth it given how strong Double Time is. When equipped, it increases the duration of your Tactical Sprint, letting you get around the map faster. Even though Double Time is a Red Perk, this does not affect your combat specialty, so there’s no downside to using it.
A Semtex works as well as ever in the lethal slot, and a Concussion is still a top option in the tactical slot that can be used to stun victims, leaving them helpless. Finally, the Trophy System is a powerful Field Upgrade that can be thrown to block and intercept enemy equipment, which is particularly useful if you play objective game modes like Hardpoint and Headquarters.
XM4 pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Great ease of use | Mediocre TTK |
| Good damage range | Below average handling |
| Fast fire rate | Fairly slow reload |
| Low recoil | Struggles up close |
Where is the XM4 in the Black Ops 6 meta?
The XM4 is a good assault rifle that serves as this year’s jack of all trades weapon. It doesn’t have any exceptional characteristics but is still a strong option thanks to its low recoil, solid damage, and overall impressive performance at both medium and long range.
Within each weapon’s max damage range, the XM4 has a middling TTK among ARs, clocking in at 300 ms. While this pales in comparison to the AS VAL and AK-74, it’s still fairly impressive given how accurate the XM4 is. It makes up for its lack of raw damage with consistency and ease of use, both of which are important. After all, the MCW was meta in MW3 for much the same reason.
It might not be an absolute meta weapon like the MCW, but the XM4 is an appealing gun that thrives due to its versatility. It doesn’t matter if you are on a small map like Babylon or a bigger map like SCUD, this gun will always be competitive.
How to unlock the XM4
You can unlock the XM4 by reaching Level 4, at which point it will be available to use on custom loadouts and build as you wish.
Best XM4 alternative in Black Ops 6
If the XM4 doesn’t quite offer the damage profile you want, you might be better off using the AK-74, an alternative assault rifle that excels thanks to its fast time to kill.
For more options, check out our Black Ops 6 weapon tier list, which ranks all of the game’s guns from best to worst. We’ve also got loadouts for several other powerful weapons, including the AMES 85, KSV, and Tanto .22.